Gidley, Doran Racing Daytona January test 2010-01-12

Despite Snowy Conditions, Gidley and Doran Racing Team Test Well At
Daytona
January 10, 2010 (Daytona Beach, FL) It was a wild weekend at the Three
Day Daytona "Roar Before The 24", but not for the usual
circumstances that typically go on at...

Despite Snowy Conditions, Gidley and Doran Racing Team Test Well At
Daytona

January 10, 2010 (Daytona Beach, FL) It was a wild weekend at the Three
Day Daytona "Roar Before The 24", but not for the usual
circumstances that typically go on at this race track, but for the
weather. Everyone expects the usual mixed conditions of rain and sun
that seem to follow this event, but the sight of snow and below freezing
temperatures definitely were unusual to see. Regardless, the #77
McDonalds/Doran Racing Team ran fast, consistently inside the top six
during the on track sessions and came away with an optimistic feeling for
the race in three weeks.

"Frankly, we had a very difficult test a few weeks ago when we were
here at Daytona," said Gidley. "It seemed nothing was working
right and we just could not get a handle on exactly what was wrong with
the car." Despite that poor test, the Doran team went back to the
Cincinnati race shop and tore into the car to find what was causing them
all that grief. "We all knew something was wrong, but just
didn't know what," said Gidley. "It was related to the
rebuild after that big crash from Montreal...something just got
overlooked."

However, when the team unloaded for this test, Memo and the #77 McDonalds
car instantly jumped into the top five on the charts for the first on
track session. "Man, the car felt like a completely new car...I was
so happy!," said Gidley. "We made a few minor changes in the few
laps I drove but as I told the team right away, our racecar is back!"

The team spent the rest of the three days trying different set-ups,
waiting for the track to dry or getting the other Doran team drivers laps
in the car. The current lineup is Fabrizio Gollin, 2004 FIA GT Champion,
and Derek Johnston, Sunoco Challenge winner, with one driver still yet to
be named. "I have raced with Fabrizio the last few years at Daytona
and he is an awesome teammate who has always done a fantastic job,"
said Gidley.

Gidley's other teammate is Derek Johnston who was this year's
Rolex Challenge 24 at Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco
Challenge winner. Derek won the UK Radical Championship which lead to
his prize of a fully sponsored ride in this year's Daytona 24.

"Derek has been a really cool customer in the car and is a great
person to be around," said Gidley. "He has no experience in a car
of this speed and size, nor has he been to this track before. Despite
all this, he has done a really nice job under immense pressure and
I'm looking forward to driving with him."